Title: The Lost Ones

Summary: A collection of One-Shots on scenes in the life of Shinobi, some sad, some humorous, some action-loaded, and each one about a different character / from a different point of view.

Disclaimer: Sadly enough, I do not, have never, and will never own Naruto.

Chapter 1 - Kakashi I

„War makes monsters of us all", they said, and Hatake Kakashi couldn't help but agree with them.

Panting heavily, he cut the throat of his last opponent and looked around. Obviously they had won the battle.

"Good", he thought simply. Glancing down, Kakashi realized he was in a mess. He had several cuts and bruises, but at least nothing was broken. Blood was splattered all over his body and clothes, but he didn't mind. He was used to it. He had killed a lot of people already, and there would be more murders to come – this was war, after all. He had watched his best friends die. Why should the death of one of his enemies, or his blood, for that matter, bother him?

Okay, granted, the deaths of many enemies. The battlefield was full of corpses, friends and foes. Not that this made a difference to Kakashi. He had basically grown up in war. It wasn't an unfamiliar sight, but one he saw every single day.

The shinobi from Kirigakure had attacked Konoha at nightfall, when they had least expected it. They had been prepared, though, more or less – shinobi villages always had to be prepared, especially at times like these.

Suddenly, Kakashi heard a sound behind him, half choking, half sobbing. Turning around, he saw a child standing a few feet from him, eyes wide with terror.

"Kami, what is he doing here?" Kakashi cursed inwardly. "Please don't tell me they sent him here to fight."

It would have been impossible not to notice the child was of the Uchiha clan, even if he hadn't known the child, for the crimson red of the Sharingan was already burning in his eyes. Still, this didn't surprise Kakashi. This was Uchiha Itachi, after all, the kid they already called "the prodigy" at so young an age. Kakashi knew that he was a good fighter already, with an almost perfect aim when it came to throwing Kunai or Senbon.

Right now, Itachi didn't look very dangerous, though. He looked terrified and was very, very green in his face…well, Kakashi had seen this look often enough to be able to count down the seconds until Uchiha Itachi would start throwing up.

3…2…1…

Yup, there it was. Motionless, Kakashi watched as the child turned around and stumbled towards the trees, one hand clamped over his mouth.

When Itachi had finished emptying his stomach, Kakashi sighed and approached him, and laid his hand on the child's shoulder. He wasn't exactly good at comforting others – well, to be honest, he completely sucked at that - but maybe a kid as young as Itachi wouldn't notice.

Apparently, Itachi misinterpreted his gesture. He closed his eyes, inhaled deeply and immediately composed himself.

"Forgive me, Hatake-san", he said formally. "It will not happen again."

Incredulous, Kakashi stared at Itachi, four years old and already evidently already done growing up.

"Fuck", he thought. Kids shouldn't be like this. He hadn't been like this. Or had he?

"I probably was", Kakashi thought grimly. He had grown up the day his father died; he had been six then. Two years didn't make that much of a difference.

Still, he decided he'd do his best to cheer Itachi up and patted his head.

"Don't worry about it, Itachi-kun. That's normal. Every shinobi reacts like this at first. I did, my teammates did – even Minato-sensei!"

"Really?" Itachi didn't look very convinced.

"Absolutely. You'll get used to it."

Immediately, the horror returned to Itachi's eyes. Obviously that had been the wrong thing to say.

"Damn it", Kakashi muttered under his breath. Playing the agony aunt was definitely not the right job for him. Should he ever quit his job as a shinobi of Konoha, this career was most definitely not an option.

"I don't want to get used to this", Itachi mumbled almost inaudibly. "I don't want to kill anyone."

"I know", Kakashi said quietly. "I know."

He kneeled down in front of the boy, forcing him to look at him.

"None of us want this, Itachi-kun. But sometimes it can't be avoided. If we want to live in peace, we must do it."

"That's paradox", Itachi objected, almost causing Kakashi to smile.

"A little know-it-all, are we, huh? Typical Uchiha .I shouldn't have expected anything else, I guess, especially not from a genius."

"Yeah", Kakashi agreed, "it is. But if we don't fight, we cannot protect the people living in this village. If we don't fight, this war might never end, and many innocent people will die. We must fight to end this war – and then, we must fight to make sure there won't be another one."

"There must be a way to maintain the peace without fighting", Itachi interjected sadly. "Why isn't there one?"

Kakashi smiled slightly under his mask. He had the feeling this kid would grow up to be extremely special.

"Maybe there will be, one day, when the world has changed. Let's hope you and I live to see a world like that. We can work on it, don't you think? Who knows, maybe you'll be the one to find this way. But right now, we have no choice but to deal with what we got."

Slowly, he rose to his feet again and, after a moment of hesitation, reached out and grabbed the young Uchiha by his hand.

"Come. I'll take you home."

A/N.:

Yup, there it is- the first chapter. I hope you liked it. If you did ( and even if you didn't!!!) please review! I love reviews! Also, if you got any special wishes, e.g. request for One-Shots with special characters or want me to write about a certain situation, don't hesitate to tell me, and I'll try to make the best of it.

Ah, and yeah, you'll be able to see who's point of view it is in the titles of the chapters. Allright?

Peace out, (and don't forget to review xD I'll give you cookies if you do)

Dustland-Fairytales